The Courting Rituals Of Champagne Bottles

By Mayte Taipe

Champagne falls in love all the time
With wine glasses, that are supposed
To be in love with grapes,
With corks and seals and the cellar.
They steal hearts as easily
As they steal the show at dinner.
But times were hard,
And such luxuries were difficult
To come by. The last bottles
Had been lounging in the cellar
For roughly two years.
And the family had decided
Not to drink but to sell.
The daughter
Did not agree.
Sneaking down in the late hours
Of the night, struggling with the cork,
Cursing when it popped.
Not bothering with a glass.
And oh, how the champagne
Fell for her. Not a second thought before it fell
Cork over punt.
The night and early morning wore on.
Each hour,
There was less of it that loved her,
And more of it that knew her.
None of her that knew it.
How content it was to be drunk
By his barely known beloved.

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